Drummer Lars Ulrich says Metallica’s laissez-faire attitude is shaped by uncertainty in “Wild West” music business

Lars Ulrich

Lars Ulrich (Image credit: Getty)

Lars Ulrich says “nobody knows” what the future holds for the music industry – which he describes as being like “the Wild West.”

The Metallica drummer says the lack of predictability in the music business influences their laissez-faire approach to band activity nowadays.

Ulrich tells MSNBC: “I think you have to sort of accept that nobody really knows where it’s going, so there has to be a lot of impulsive kind of attitudes.

Lars Ulrich: Music industry is like the Wild West | Louder

“It’s like a train that’s moving, and you don’t quite know where it’s going, but you sort of try to steer it in the best way you can, realising that it may go in different places that you had no idea.”

He continues: “The music business, or what’s left of it, is very like the Wild West now. 15 years ago, when you put out a record, there was a particular way that you did everything. Now it’s just whatever works for you.”
Metallica's Lars Ulrich: What I Learned From My Band's 'Day of Service'
Speaking of the lead-up to their forthcoming album Hardwired… To Self-Destruct, Ulrich says: “We’re just doing whatever we feel is right. There’s no particular way that it should be.”

Last month, the band admitted that they fear for the future of rock music after they’ve gone. Their manager Peter Mensch also described YouTube as “the devil”, saying the video streaming site is killing the music industry.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

In 2000, Ulrich famously took on file-sharing website Napster by hand-delivering a list of more than 300,000 users who, it was claimed, traded Metallica MP3s illegally to the firm’s San Mateo headquarters.

Metallica released a video of their live performance of classic track For Whom The Bell Tolls earlier this week.

 

Hardwired... To Self Destruct artwork

Hardwired… To Self Destruct artwork

Metallica Hardwired… To Self-Destruct tracklist

Disc 1

      Hardwired

 

      Atlas, Rise!

 

      Now That We’re Dead

 

      Moth Into Flame

 

      Am I Savage?

 

    Halo On Fire

Disc 2

      Confusion

 

      Dream No More

 

      ManUNkind

 

      Here Comes Revenge

 

      Murder One

 

    Spit Out The Bone

Metallica tour dates

Oct 22: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Oct 23: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Oct 26: San Juan Coliseo De Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico
Oct 29: Quito Parque Bicentenario, Ecuador
Nov 01: Bogota Hipodromo De Los Andes, Columbia
Nov 03: Guatemala City Estadio Cementos Progreso, Guatemala
Nov 05: San Jose Estadio Nacional, Costa Rica
Feb 03: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Feb 05: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Mar 25-26: Lollapalooza Brazil
Mar 31-Apr 01: Lollapalooza Argentina
Apr 01-02: Lollapalooza Chile